


Daily Routine

by sanctum_c



Series: Clerith Month 2017 [11]
Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy XII
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Final Fantasy XII fusion, Early Mornings, F/M, Ivalice (Ivalice Alliance), Rabanastre
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:49:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28700196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctum_c/pseuds/sanctum_c
Summary: Aeris's life in Rabanastre.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife
Series: Clerith Month 2017 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009509
Kudos: 3





	Daily Routine

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt 'Final Fantasy Tactics' - though this fic is basically a _Final Fantasy XII_ fusion. They're both Ivalice though.

Every morning Aeris would wake at five on the dot, bleary-eyed but concious while most of the city around her still slumbered. She allowed herself a meagre fifteen minutes to wash, dress and breakfast. Cloud would be waiting - without fail - outside her front door, sword resting against his shoulder. Aeris smiled and nodded to him as she always did. No time for any further pleasantries; they both had jobs to do. Aeris set a brisk pace through the waking Rabanastre streets, the air filling with the sizzle of marinated meat cooking. She never needed to look back to check her companion was still following; Cloud was quiet but reliable, always had been.

Aeris made it to the Eastern gate by the time the clocks rang six, the streetlights winking out despite the pools of deep shadow remaining in the city. The gate guards knew her and Cloud from long years of this same routine; they were both waved out into the desert with only a cursory glance. She knew full well they assumed she was harmless; Cloud should present more of a concern for them, but experience established he was unlikely to cause problems.

The sand was still cold at this time of day and a faint chill lingered in the air. Perfect; the desert was at its best like this. Once, long ago when she was so much younger, so much naive and long before Cloud ever accompanied her, Aeris tried to make this same trip at a later point in the day. An almost unimaginable mistake now; the sun scorched the sand, scorched the air - and she almost suffered heat-stroke for her daring. Too little water and attempting to do too much under the bright sun. A horrible day; every movement took so much effort and she tired near immediately while sweat dripped from every part of her. That was not even considering the point where she had to fend off the monsters; nothing she could not handle but an exhausting extra effort on top of everything else.

In the aftermath her friends suggested waiting until the evening, and once she might have considered it. Cloud, on the other hand, advised against such a course of action when he started accompanying her. While the night-time would be cooler, working in the swiftly descending darkness was starkly different to working in the growing light of dawn. Riskier too given the multitude of less than pleasant desert creatures that would rouse under cover of night. And it was much easier to stay home as the night drew on; heat tended to linger in the Rabanastre streets even as the stars brightened. Some nights were as hot as the day and as exhausting to move around in. Her trips to the desert were vastly more refreshing in the early morning light.

Aeris made her way down from the gates, venturing off and away from the broken remnants of an old road leading who knew where. She stayed close to the rocky outcrops as the desert sloped down from the city. Behind her Cloud quickened his pace; she increased her own forcing him to hurry a little more. A childish impulse, but it was not as if there was anything to worry about at present: a few wolves content to eye her at a distance but not pay either of them any much attention. Best not to be too complacent though; there were other risks out here.

Aeris ventured a little further out from the city than the norm, headed for a more distant patch of flowers. Tomorrow she would revisit one of the closer crops to check on how well they were regrowing. Cloud followed in her wake as she approached the burst of colour from the flowers clinging to life out here. Moments after she reached the relevant plateau, the sun crested the horizon and bathed the desert in pale light. Perhaps an hour until the air began to heat up. Two hours until it would be unbearable.

She settled on her knees beside the flowers and carefully picked them one at a time. Always a slight sense of guilt as she did this, a worry that she might be taking too many too often. Far better for her to leave the flowers to grow by themselves and remain in their natural state. But she needed to eat and she needed to pay rent. And she needed to pay Cloud for his services (as much as he continued to insist he would do it all for free). This - for now - was her life and while some of the circumstances might frustrate, they at least allowed her to keep on going, keep on living.

Cloud paced around the area as she worked. Most of the time his presence might feel unnecessary but it would be a mistake to dismiss him. There had been the odd occasion when some night-time species considered a morsel before slumbering; Cloud's sword made short work of it. Also advisable not to to overlook the possibility of some day-time species considering breakfast either. She left him to his pacing; he was good at his job.

The hour passed and the second was unnecessary; Aeris took the pile of flowers and made her way back up to the city. Cloud trailed after her until she was through the gate. There they parted ways for now; her to sell her wares in the market, and him to provide similar bodyguard duties to whoever else needed it. Tomorrow after their next visit to the desert, they would meet up in the evening to share a meal; a celebration for both of them making it through another week. For now – she had flowers to sell.


End file.
